Battered Burros battle Superlarks

Senior standout Daulton Gartner, left, breaks loose for a 72-yard pickup in the second half of the Burros' game with Grand Meadow on Friday night.

Lanesboro (3-3, 2-3 SEC) could not keep up with undefeated Grand Meadow (6-0, 5-0 SEC) last Friday, falling 42-6 at the home of the Superlarks.

The Burros managed only 114 yards of offense, all on the ground. It was the lowest output for LHS in 27 games. All four Burro passes were incomplete. LHS broke only two big plays. Daulton Gartner got 51 of his team-high 81 yards with one run during a 10-play, 64-yard drive that ended on downs after reaching the GM 16 yard-line. The other play, a 21-yard run by quarterback Garrett Boggs highlighted a drive that ended with a fumble on the Superlark 13.

Three plays later, the Burros snagged a Lark return fumble at the GM 26 yard line. They then managed to score in the final minute, with Boggs capping a seven-play drive with a two-yard TD run.

Those late turnovers weren't the first. Just five plays into the game, LHS lost a fumble at its own 39 but held GM on downs at the Burro 6. LHS proceeded to go three and out on their next three possessions, giving Grand Meadow the short end of the field to play on.

Taking possession in LHS territory three times, GM jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter.

Field position finally changed with a 30-yard LHS drive. However, the Superlarks were able to go 80 and 63 yards for their next two touchdowns. It was 28-0 at halftime and 35-0 after the Larks' first possession of the second half. LHS punted for a sixth straight time (from the Burro 16), and GM went 41 yards to score on a sixth straight possession to lead 42-0 with 6:53 on the third-quarter clock.

GM displayed balance with 185 yards rushing and 174 yards through the air, more than tripling Lanesboro's yardage (359-114). The Superlarks wound up scoring three times on the ground and three times in the air.

GM sophomore Landon Jacobson rushed for 177 yards on 19 carries with three TD runs of 40, 1 and 41 yards. He also had four pass receptions for 57 yards.

Superlark junior QB Trenton Bleifus completed 13 of 20 passes, including 3 for touchdowns (174 yards). Tight end Mike Ojulu had 70 yards of receptions with touchdown catches of 28, 11 and 9 yards. Sophomore Wyatt Richardson was good on all six extra-point kicks.

Isaac Freese led the LHS defense with 18 tackles. Gartner was in on 8 stops and Clay Olson 7.

After dropping the last two games against GM, Lanesboro still leads the nine-man football series 8 to 5.

The injury-plagued Burros suffered from the loss of several key players. With Alex Reed, Jeremy Hanson and Will Semmen sitting out from the start, Tylar Miller came off with an injury for the first time this season only to re-fracture his collarbone on the fifth play of the game. Jarrett Brown, after missing the last two games, was lost for the night early in the first quarter. Workhorse running back Niko Anderson (9 carries, 32 yards) also left with an injury early in the second quarter.

Up next:

Lanesboro hosts LeRoy-Ostrander on Friday. On Wednesday, Oct. 17, they will visit Houston. Section quarterfinals games are scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 23.